Marking device



p il 6, 1965 c. J. SAUBER 3,176,659

MARKING, DEVICE Filed May 18, 1962 INVENTOR CHARLES J. SAUBER ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,176,659 MARKING DEVICE Charles J. Sauber, 115 Main St, Virgil, Ill. Filed May 18, 1962, Ser. No. 195,994 2 Claims. (Cl. 120-18) This invention relates in general to marking devices and more particularly to a device for marking, writing, drawing or coloring with a mechanically fed crayon or the like.

Crayons or the like are relatively soft, and impressions are easily made upon them unless protected and stiffened, as compared to metal, for example. Thus the coloring crayon is usually wrapped in a paper or cardboard tube to prevent bending or breaking and to facilitate ease of handling. Mechanical coloring or marking pencils, on the other hand, generally require complex feed mechanisms and usually rely on relatively small diameter colored leads, usually, of necessity, somewhat harder than the conventional wax or paraflin crayon.

It is accordingly the principal object of this invention to provide a relatively simple and inexpensive mechanical marking device capable of positively feeding relatively soft marking material such as paraflin or wax crayons.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a simple thread feed device in keeping with the above object, which eliminates or renders minimal stub losses.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a marking material suitable for use in the feeding device of the aforementioned objects, which includes a keyway or slot cooperating with the thread feed device for positive feeding.

These and additional objects and features will be more apparent as the ensuing description proceeds, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is an elevation of the barrel of the marking device;

FIG. 2 is an end view of FIG. 1, looking from the left;

FIG. 3 is an end view of FIG. 1, looking from the right;

FIG. 4 is an elevation of the feeding tip of the barrel illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is the front end view of the feeding tip of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is the rear end View of the feeding tip of FIG 4, illustrating the coupling arrangement;

FIG. 7 is an elevation of a piece of marking material or crayon suitable for the mechanical feeding device of FIGS. 16;

FIG. 8 is an end view of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a longitudinal section of the assembled device; and

FIG. 10 is an end view of the assembly.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings and particularly FIG. 1, the numeral 11 represents an elongate hollow tube or barrel having radially disposed therein a fixed key or fin 12, which extends throughout the length of the barrel 11 and projects beyond, terminating in an integral extension 13.

The forward end of the barrel 11 is provided with a pair of stepped annular surfaces 14 and 15 of progressively lesser diameter than one another and the external of barrel 11. The second reduced annular surface 15 is thus defined longitudinally at one end by the shoulder forming surface 14, and at the other end by a shoulder providing an annular surface 16 of a diameter approximately equal to that of surface 14. The forward end of the barrel 11 terminates in a bevelled surface except for the projecting portion 13 of the key or fin 12. The projection 13 is also provided with an outer surface 13a of lesser slope than that of bevel 17 and sloping to an "ice end 13b. The barrel 11 may be of any suitable material such as metal or plastic, preferably the latter, of a clear thermoplastic type or moldable or extrudable.

A hollow tip 18, having an externally tapered end 19, is provided for relatively rotatable engagement with the contoured end of the barrel and may comprise metal or plastic material such as polyvinyl chloride. Preferably, it may be formed of a relatively soft metal such as aluminum. As better illustrated in FIG. 9, the internal bore of the tip 18 is provided with a continuous tapered thread 20. The bore of the tip 18 at the roots of the threads 29 is approximately the same diameter as the mating bore 11a of the barrel 11. The rear end of the tip is in the form of a skirt 21, having provided therein an internal radially projecting shoulder 22 to engage the annular space in the end of the barrel 11 provided by surface 15 between the shoulders providing adjacent surfaces 14 and 16.

Rearward of the inwardly extending shoulder 22 of the skirt 21, the skirt is preferably provided with a series of angularly inwardly projecting detents 23. These may conveniently be punched inwardly from the skirt material and are adapted to engage the annular surface 15. These detents 23, because of the angle at which they will engage surface 15 of the barrel, will permit the tip to be easily rotated in one direction but will deter its rotation in the opposite direction. The permitted direction is related to the angle of the threads so that a crayon within may only be advanced through the tip 18. The entire skirt 21 is sufl'lciently resilient that it may be snap-fit over the contoured end of the barrel with shoulder 22 seating in the annular depression defined by surface 15 for relative'rotational movement.

The device is completed with a rod of paraffin-like marking material 24, such as crayon, of a length approximately equal to the combined length of the barrel 11 and assembled tip 18. The crayon material 24 is formed or extruded with a longitudinal keyway or slot 25 adapted to slidably engage with the key or fin 12 of the barrel 11.

It will be apparent that when a crayon 24 is inserted into the rear or end of the barrel 11 distal from tip 18 with its slot or keyway in alignment with the key or fin 12, gentle pressure will cause it to engage with" the first thread of threads 20 within the tip. Assuming the threads are preferably right hand female tapered threads, turning the tip clockwise relative to the barrel or vice versa will cause the threads to thread the crayon and advance it through the tip to the extent desired. The keyway 25 and key 12, of course, prevent the crayon from rotating relative to the barrel 11. Likewise, theangles at which detents 23 project will prevent the tip from being rotated anti-clockwise with respect to the barrel 11 so that the crayon, once threaded, always remains threadedly engaged with the tip until the very last bit reaches the last thread adjacent the front end of the tip. If the barrel is made of clear plastic material, the amount of crayon remaining can be readily noted from time to time.

Having described my invention in detail, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that certain changes and modifications will occur, and all such as come within the spirit of the invention are intended as falling within its scope as best defined in the appended claims whereat said one end for receiving and holding a hollow tip,

the internal bore of said tubular barrel having a sub'- stantially uniform cross section throughout its length, said hollow tip having internal means adjacent its rear end for cooperation in rotatingly holding said tip on said external means on said barrel end and permitting rotation thereon and internal threads at its front end having a diameter approximately the same diameter as the in ternal bore of the barrel and an elongated marking member such as a crayon or the like having an elongated slot 10 thereon throughout its extent slidably received within the internal bore of the barrel with the slot received by and slidable over said fin in the barrel, said internal threads Within the tip cooperating with the projecting portion of said fin throughout the internal threaded portion of 15 the tip for threadedly engaging the marking member and positively driving the entire length of the marking member through said tip as the tip is rotated relative References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 941,518 11/09 Haase 120-87 1,356,408 10/20 Siller 206-56 2,184,529 12/39 Most 120-18 2,274,311 2/42 Wehn 120-18 JEROME SCHNALL, Primary Examiner. LAWRENCE CHARLES, Examiner. 

1. A MARKING DEVICE COMPRISING, IN COMBINATION, A SUBSTANTIALLY UNITARY TUBULAR BARREL HAVING AN ELONGATED FIN EXTENDING THE FULL LENGHT INSIDE THE BARREL AND CONTINUING BEYOND ONE END OF THE BARREL AND EXTERNAL MEANS AT SAID ONE END FOR RECEIVING AND HOLDING A HOLLOW TIP, THE INTERNAL BORE OF SAID TUBULAR BARREL HAVING A SUBSTANTIALLY UNIFORM CROSS SECTION THROUGHOUT ITS LENGTH, SAID HOLLOW TIP HAVING INTERNAL MEANS ADJACENT ITS REAR END FOR COOPERATION IN ROTATINGLY HOLDING SAID TIP ON SAID EXTERNAL MEANS ON SAID BARREL END AND PERMITTING ROTATION THEREON AND INTERNAL THREADS AT ITS FRONT END HAVING A DIAMETER APPROXIMATELY THE SAME DIAMETER AS THE INTERNAL BORE OF THE BARREL AND AN ELONGATED MARKING MEMBER SUCH AS A CRAYON OR THE LIKE HAVING AN ELONGATED SLOT THEREON THROUGHOUT ITS EXTENT SLIDABLY RECEIVED BY AND INTERNAL BORE OF THE BARREL WITH THE SLOT RECEIVED BY AND SLIDABLE OVER SAID FIN IN THE BARREL, SAID INTERNAL THREADS WITHIN THE TIP COOPERATING WITH THE PROJECTING PORTION OF SAID FIN THROUGHOUT THE INTERNAL THREADED PORTION OF THE TIP FOR THREADEDLY ENGAGING THE MARKING MEMBER AND POSITIVELY DRIVING THE ENTIRE LENGTH OF THE MARKING MEMBER THROUGH SAID TIP AS THE TIP IS ROTATED RELATIVE TO THE BARREL, SAID PROJECTING PORTION OF THE FIN ALSO SERVING TO SUPPORT THE MARKING MEMBER ADJACENT ITS PRESSURE RECEIVING END DURING USE THEREBY PREVENTING BREAKAGE 